FINALLY had the chance to ride the new ZH kite from RRD yesterday at the Delta (13 meter). Check the wind archives and you can see I was pretty lit. Unbelievable boost, hang-time, windward ability and depower function. I was never that hyped on the 5th line for relaunch (since I make every effort not to drop my kite) but the ability to ride out the sick gusts while shortening the 5th line is amazing. I should have been on a 10 for sure but hung onto the 13 in gusts well over 30. The other guy on the water was riding an 8, just for comparison's sake.

Hangtime? Oh my! I found myself wondering if I was ever coming down in a few of those puffs and instead of bringing the kite back down with quick front-hand pressure, had to wait out the lift period-- definitely needs different timing. I came in so [glow=red]hot[/glow] one time I was at full bore by the time my board touched down. Definitely the fastest board speeds I've ever experienced with this kite. Racers ready?

There was smoke on the water in a few of the heavier gusts. Swell riding on the inside was all-time.

Sounds awesome. Chip's been stoked on his 13m ZH he's had for a little while now, and there were a couple guys at Crissy on Wave's and ZH's. Several local riders have also switched recently from Slingshot to Rrd, so they must be doing something right.

The good news is that the RRD Type ZHfor med/high AR kite and the RRD Type Wavefor ocean riding and medium AR have been huge hits in the Bay Area spots.

The better news is that on Saturday April 23rd there will be a demo day for RRD in the Bay Area. I will wait a little before I say where, but Type ZH, Type Wave and Type 6 will all be there ready for you to judge if they really are as high performers as everybody says.

In addition, Live2KITEand RRD riders will be available for tuning and riding Q&A.

I havn't tried the ZH, but the Wave type is insane!!! I don't think I could handle the speed and the power stearing of that kite!! That's right I was underpowered on Chips kite, and I was still scared of the kite. I've never felt a kite turn so fast with so little imput. It was turning like a stunt kite!! I'm sure double looping is pretty easy with this kite (still not for me). Awsome kite RRD!!!!

dave
i got into chip yesterday at pt.emery he ripped me a new one on his 16m zh rrd
fast ,upwind i got schooled .
course i wes right there with him for 2 runs on my 12m rapture?
then he just left my area code.

Guys,
Next time you see any of the RRD local riders ask them for a Type ZH or Wave test. They are insane kites that will make a difference on your kiting enjoyment this year. We have converted tens of other brand riders just by having a 15min try on those incredible machines.

On the same topic, come and meet the designer of RRD kites Simone Vannucci at the San Francis Yacht Club (next to Crissy Field) tonight (4:30-7:30pm), or on Saturday during (and after) the SFBA.org meet. RRD kites will be available for demo and show, + the Live2KITE and RRD / Cabal team will be there for tuning and other advice.

See you all there. (a lot of giveaways at the SFBA raffle - don't miss out)